Global meta-analysis of the relationship between soil organic matter and crop yields

Oldfield, Emily E.; Bradford, Mark A.; Wood, Stephen A.

doi:10.5194/soil-5-15-2019

Cited by 462 publications

(228 citation statements)

References 147 publications

(127 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

211

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Additionally, P availability can be reduced in soils like TD and SP that have low SOC and high soil inorganic C (Leytem & Westermann, ; Sharpley, Singh, Uehara, & Kimble, ), further hindering plant development. Although no universal threshold exists for ‘enough’ SOC to sustain crop production (Loveland & Webb, ), a recent meta‐analysis suggests that yield increased up to 20 g kg −1 , above which increased SOC did not necessarily result in increased yields (Oldfield, Bradford, & Wood, ). The findings of this study indicate yields increased as SOC increased up to 20 g kg −1 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crop production on heavily disturbed soils following crude oil remediation

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cropland contaminated by crude oil typically requires remediation before it can meet pre‐contaminated productivity potentials. Remediation strategies focus on removing the contaminant, but they also often alter soil properties, which affects the capacity of the land to sustain agricultural production. This research describes crop production following the remediation of crude oil contaminated soil in North Dakota, USA using two different strategies, a modified land‐farming technique and ex situ thermal desorption. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and field pea (Pisum sativum L.) were grown in soils treated by both of those techniques, as well as mixtures of each treated soil with native topsoil. Across three growing seasons of comparisons to native topsoil, crop production was 61 ± 20% lower in the modified land‐farm soils and 52 ± 25% lower in thermal desorption‐treated soils; these yield declines were likely associated with reduced soil organic carbon levels. Notably, the soil mixtures had higher soil organic carbon levels and matched the native topsoil in both yield and protein content, suggesting that soil mixing may be a promising tool in cropland soil reclamation. Overall, these findings reinforce that crop production on reclaimed land is linked with soil properties, so long‐term reclamation success requires a holistic approach to soil management.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crop production on heavily disturbed soils following crude oil remediation

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Larsbo et al (2016) used a natural SOC gradient to evaluate its effect on pore networks, influencing solute and gaseous transport in the soil. Changes in soil structure induced by large SOC loss might also affect other key ecosystem properties, such as NPP (Oldfield et al, 2019), microbial biomass (Walker et al, 2018 or other soil biota. For example, in the adjacent warmed grassland plots, Holmstrup et al (2018) detected a warming-induced shift in Collembola species abundance towards species with smaller body size.…”

Section: Linking Losses In Soil Organic Carbon To Changes In Soil Strmentioning

confidence: 99%

Depletion of soil carbon and aggregation after strong warming of a subarctic Andosol under forest and grassland cover

Poeplau¹,

Sigurðsson

2020

SOIL

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. The net loss of soil organic carbon (SOC) from terrestrial ecosystems is a likely consequence of global warming and may affect key soil functions. The strongest changes in temperature are expected to occur at high northern latitudes, with forest and tundra as prevailing land cover types. However, specific soil responses to warming in different ecosystems are currently understudied. In this study, we used a natural geothermal soil warming gradient (0–17.5 ∘C warming intensity) in an Icelandic spruce forest on Andosol to assess changes in the SOC content between 0 and 10 cm (topsoil) and between 20 and 30 cm (subsoil) after 10 years of soil warming. Five different SOC fractions were isolated, and their redistribution and the amount of stable aggregates were assessed to link SOC to changes in the soil structure. The results were compared to an adjacent, previously investigated warmed grassland. Soil warming depleted the SOC content in the forest soil by −2.7 g kg−1 ∘C−1 (−3.6 % ∘C−1) in the topsoil and −1.6 g kg−1 ∘C−1 (−4.5 % ∘C−1) in the subsoil. The distribution of SOC in different fractions was significantly altered, with particulate organic matter and SOC in sand and stable aggregates being relatively depleted and SOC attached to silt and clay being relatively enriched in warmed soils. The major reason for this shift was aggregate breakdown: the topsoil aggregate mass proportion was reduced from 60.7±2.2 % in the unwarmed reference to 28.9±4.6 % in the most warmed soil. Across both depths, the loss of one unit of SOC caused a depletion of 4.5 units of aggregated soil, which strongly affected the bulk density (an R2 value of 0.91 and p<0.001 when correlated with SOC, and an R2 value of 0.51 and p<0.001 when correlated with soil mass in stable aggregates). The proportion of water-extractable carbon increased with decreasing aggregation, which might indicate an indirect protective effect of aggregates larger than 63 µm on SOC. Topsoil changes in the total SOC content and fraction distribution were more pronounced in the forest than in the adjacent warmed grassland soils, due to higher and more labile initial SOC. However, no ecosystem effect was observed on the warming response of the subsoil SOC content and fraction distribution. Thus, whole profile differences across ecosystems might be small. Changes in the soil structure upon warming should be studied more deeply and taken into consideration when interpreting or modelling biotic responses to warming.

show abstract

“…In an agricultural production system, productivity and environmental impact are both strongly affected by these soil quality parameters [41]. High-quality soils can give greater yields per unit effort than low-quality soils, and lower quality soils may require more intensive farming practices to be economically productive, e.g., in the form of additional fertilizer use and intensified tillage, increased nutrient runoff, and subsequent environmental impacts [123]. Since soil quality can vary significantly within and between regions, this aspect of local environmental uniqueness can strongly influence farming practices and, subsequently, the sustainability of seemingly very similar production systems [26].…”

Section: Local Environmental Uniquenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bio-Based Production Systems: Why Environmental Assessment Needs to Include Supporting Systems

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The transition to a bio-based economy is expected to deliver substantial environmental and economic benefits. However, bio-based production systems still come with significant environmental challenges, and there is a need for assessment methods that are adapted for the specific characteristics of these systems. In this review, we investigated how the environmental aspects of bio-based production systems differ from those of non-renewable systems, what requirements these differences impose when assessing their sustainability, and to what extent mainstream assessment methods fulfil these requirements. One unique characteristic of bio-based production is the need to maintain the regenerative capacity of the system. The necessary conditions for maintaining regenerative capacity are often provided through direct or indirect interactions between the production system and surrounding “supporting” systems. Thus, in the environmental assessment, impact categories affected in both the primary production system and the supporting systems need to be included, and impact models tailored to the specific context of the study should be used. Development in this direction requires efforts to broaden the system boundaries of conventional environmental assessments, to increase the level of spatial and temporal differentiation, and to improve our understanding of how local uniqueness and temporal dynamics affect the performance of the investigated system.

show abstract

Global meta-analysis of the relationship between soil organic matter and crop yields

Cited by 462 publications

References 147 publications

Crop production on heavily disturbed soils following crude oil remediation

Crop production on heavily disturbed soils following crude oil remediation

Depletion of soil carbon and aggregation after strong warming of a subarctic Andosol under forest and grassland cover

Bio-Based Production Systems: Why Environmental Assessment Needs to Include Supporting Systems

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About